


flirting in the back of the coffeeshop

by CreatePeaceFromChaos



Series: Timbitat's Quarantine Bingo [3]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Bottoming from the Top, Coffee Shops, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feral Jaskier | Dandelion, Gentle Sex, Love Confessions, M/M, Meet-Cute, Porn with Feelings, Riding, Soft Eskel (The Witcher), Strangers to Lovers, Valdo Marx Bashing, Valdo Marx Being an Asshole, Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg is So Done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:27:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25405360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreatePeaceFromChaos/pseuds/CreatePeaceFromChaos
Summary: Jaskier utterly regretted telling Valdo Marx – that self-important, thieving, plagiarising, overcompensating asshole – that he was not “sadly single”, thank you very much! And neither was he upset that their night together had been just that – a night. But his lies were coming back to bite him, because Marx had been trying to catch him out in his mistruth, and it'd gotten to the point where he needed to throw himself at the mercy of a complete stranger.Eskel was just waiting for his brothers to meet him for an afternoon snack when the very pretty man with incredibly blue eyesflunghimself into his life. He might come to regret it, but for the moment... he'd do pretty much anything to see those blue eyes shining at him over that gorgeous smile.
Relationships: Aiden/Lambert (The Witcher), Eskel/Jaskier | Dandelion, Essi Daven/Priscilla, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Series: Timbitat's Quarantine Bingo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1830388
Comments: 58
Kudos: 484





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the square "Fake Relationship" for Quarantine Bingo
> 
> Title from The Amazing Devil's "Wild Blue Yonder" because TAD music is fantastic for writing for The Witcher - though I did change the lyric from "bookshop" to "coffeeshop"

Jaskier was regretting telling Valdo Marx – that self-important, overcompensating, thieving, plagiarising _asshole_ – that he was not “sadly single” (as Marx had put it) but was in fact dating a rather attractive man who was _just Jaskier’s type_. Unspoken went the insinuation that Valdo was _not_ Jaskier’s type – Jaskier had regretted falling in bed with the pompous prick the moment he woke up the next morning with a sore ass and a hangover to rule all hangovers. Sure, he might be attractive in a smarmy sort of way, but he wasn’t the sort Jaskier usually went for.

The problem was, now Valdo was making a point to spend as much time trailing after Jaskier as was feasibly possible, as if he’d be able to catch Jaskier out in his lie about the fictional “muscled god of a man” he was supposedly dating.

Jaskier had never been good at thinking on his feet when it came to his own love life.

He’d begged off being partnered with Valdo for the preparations for tonight’s big charity gala – they never performed together, so there was no need for him to spend any more time with Valdo than what he was required to by the university – with the excuse of a date, but only ten minutes ago he’d noticed Valdo following him as he left the campus.

So he was now panicking. He wasn’t showing it outwardly, of course – he was a better actor than that – but he was _stressed_. Where was an attractive, muscular, kind stranger when a musician needed one?

If only Valdo didn’t know Geralt… if he didn’t, then Jaskier was sure Geralt and Yennefer would be willing to let Jaskier pretend he was dating Geralt for a short time. Yennefer would hold it over his head _forever_ , but it would be better than having Valdo find out he’d lied about having a date, and about having a boyfriend. Maybe he _should_ have taken them up on the offer to set him up with Geralt’s single brother…

Turning onto the main café strip of their bustling university town, Jaskier headed towards his favourite café at a casual stride. He should grab a coffee and then _conveniently_ “bump into” Valdo and distract him, and then make his escape before Valdo could corral his thoughts into a semblance of intelligence.

It was a solid enough plan… if not for Valdo having apparently decided he wanted Jaskier to know he was there. Not that Jaskier _hadn’t_ known that already, but Valdo didn’t know that.

A reedy arm was slung about his shoulders just as he reached the doorway of his favourite café – _Merigold’s_ , named after the beautiful owner Triss Merigold – and Jaskier grimaced.

“Valdo,” he greeted blandly, pausing only briefly to shrug off the man’s arm before pushing open the café door and walking in. Valdo followed. “Don’t you have someone else upon whom you can inflict your presence?”

“Don’t be an asshole, Julian,” Valdo snorted, and Jaskier rolled his eyes.

“It’s Jaskier. Are you stooping to stalking now?” he asked instead, casting his gaze about the café in the hopes that a friend would be there and could help save him from the imbecile Jaskier must’ve been blackout drunk to even consider sleeping with.

“I was just so curious about your _date_ ,” Valdo said with faux innocence, and Jaskier shot a quick glare his way before continuing his visual search. “Are you meeting him here, then?”

There. In one of the back corners of the café, not immediately visible from the entrance – not a friend, no, nor anyone he recognised, but someone who fit the vague description he’d given Valdo when the asshole had prodded for details. A large man, broad with muscle and dark of hair, whose large hands were cradling a mug and holding open a tome which Jaskier recognised as one of the many poetry books Triss kept on the shelves for those customers who wanted to sit and read for a while.

Perfect.

Big enough to scare off Valdo, and hopefully kind enough to help out a desperate stranger. Jaskier rolled his shoulders back slightly and lifted his chin, glaring down his nose at Valdo – who was, thankfully, not as gifted in the height (or any other) department as Jaskier was.

“I am, actually,” he said. “And I’m actually late, so I’d rather you removed yourself from my vicinity so I can go greet him properly.” He gave an airy hand-wave towards the reading man, who at that moment decided to take a sip of his drink and turn the page in his book with his thumb. It was a clearly practiced movement, and on any other day Jaskier would likely swoon on the spot and go flirt.

It was unfortunate this man would likely want nothing to do with him after this. Jaskier apologised mentally.

“Him?” Valdo scoffed. Luckily the general bustle of the café – nothing too loud, but loud enough to muffle conversations at a distance – stopped his voice from reaching further than Jaskier. “Right. You pay him to pretend to be your boyfriend?” Jaskier clenched his teeth and then forced a smile.

“Not at all,” he replied truthfully.

“Go on, then,” Valdo challenged, folding his arms. “Go greet your ‘boyfriend’ and introduce us so I can ask him myself.”

“You really have no knowledge of social mores, do you?” Jaskier pondered. It was quite literally amazing how dense Valdo could be. He wondered, again, what had possessed him to sleep with the bastard. “Fine, if it’ll get you off my back.” He strode away from Valdo, dodging deftly through the crowd which had just come through the door – perfect timing! – and gaining a lead on the asshole to approach the gorgeous man in the corner.

He didn’t look back at Valdo, instead reaching out a hand to deftly pluck the mug from the stranger’s hand and slide into his lap.

“Please don’t punch me for this,” he murmured to the surprised but gorgeous man whose thick thigh he was now perched on, and slid his free hand into Handsome Stranger’s lovely deep brown hair as he pressed their mouths together.

When he’d come to _Merigold’s_ an hour before he was supposed to meet his brothers, the last thing Eskel had expected was to have his tea stolen from his hand by strong fingers as a pretty, lithe man slid into his lap and curled a hand into his hair.

“Please don’t punch me for this,” the pretty stranger with frantic blue eyes murmured in a gorgeous low voice, and then Eskel’s mind went slightly blank as soft lips pressed against his.

Then his brain kind of gave up and he decided to just go with it, and tilted his head slightly to make the angle of the kiss better. Likely Blue Eyes was hiding from someone, or trying to escape someone, and he’d do what he could to help since Blue Eyes decided he was the one to approach here – and in such a fashion.

It was a pretty good kiss, too, if chaste and sudden.

Eskel set down the book of poetry he’d been reading before he gained a lapful of fey-like stranger, curling the hand which had held his tea around the back of Blue Eyes’ neck and placing the other on his hip to make sure he stayed balanced on Eskel’s thigh.

There was a sound like a cat had been stepped on – or perhaps a very offended teakettle – from behind Blue Eyes, and with a wordless grumble Blue Eyes drew back and turned his head to glare at the man who’d come up to Eskel’s table.

The newcomer was nowhere near as attractive as the blue-eyed man on Eskel’s lap, but Blue Eyes clearly knew him if the aggravated sigh was any indication.

“What, Valdo?” he snapped, clearly irritated, and Eskel let his hand on Blue Eyes’ neck slip down to instead wrap low around his waist and hips. The move had him loosely holding Blue Eyes on his lap, and apparently this ‘Valdo’ didn’t like that if the scowl was any indication.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Valdo asked, tone falsely sweet, and Blue Eyes bristled like an angry cat. Eskel tightened his hold slightly – the weight shift of Blue Eyes was that of someone about to throw themselves into a physical fight, and Eskel didn’t want to risk getting thrown out of _Merigold’s_. Triss had a few hard limits to what was allowed in her shop, and fighting was a definite no.

“Who’s this, then?” Eskel asked Blue Eyes – he didn’t know why Blue Eyes had decided that kissing a stranger was the perfect way to escape this Valdo asshole, but Eskel was willing to play along.

“Just a bastard who doesn’t know when to leave things alone,” Blue Eyes muttered, still glaring at Valdo and bristling. Eskel allowed a smirk to form on his face, and he lifted his right hand off Blue Eyes’ hip to wave at Valdo.

“Hi, Bastard,” he said, and Blue Eyes gave a startled, amused snort as Valdo spluttered in offense. “Name’s Eskel. Care to introduce yourself and maybe tell me why you interrupted?” Blue Eyes was laughing now, quiet but genuinely amused, and his head came to rest on Eskel’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” he breathed while Valdo made offended noises. “I’m Jaskier.” Eskel just gave him another squeeze, this time a silent acknowledgement of the thanks.

“I am Professor Valdo Marx of Oxenfurt College of the Arts,” Valdo uttered, drawing his scrawny frame up in a self-important manner, and Eskel just hummed disbelievingly. Jaskier snickered.

“Right,” Eskel said, deliberately sounding sceptical, and bit back a smile at the way _Professor Valdo Marx_ spluttered. “And you’re interrupting us because…?”

“Because I sincerely doubt Julian’s _truthfulness_ about your… relationship,” the bastard sneered. Eskel’s eyebrows rose, and Jaskier sighed.

“One, it’s Jaskier. Two, could you _be_ any more pretentious? That’s not a challenge, by the way,” he added hastily. Eskel snorted. “Three, do you really think I _hired someone_ to pretend to date me? I don’t need to pay people for attention and affection, unlike some I could name.”

God, that haughty tone and feral sneer should _not_ be attractive, but Eskel liked it. Blue Eyes – Jaskier – was hitting all of his buttons.

“Can guarantee he’s not paying me,” Eskel agreed, and took back the cup of tea that Jaskier was still holding so he could place it safely on the table. “Now we’ve satisfied your rude curiosity; do you mind? You’re butting in on our date.”

Valdo spluttered wordlessly, but then stormed off and out the café door, looking like he had something wedged up his ass as he did so. Eskel snorted again, and then looked at the pretty blue-eyed man still in his lap.

“Nasty ex?” he asked, and Jaskier scoffed.

“He wishes.” He paused, and then his shoulders slumped slightly. “Though I did, maybe, sleep with him once. Still don’t know what drunk me was thinking when that happened,” he added in a disgruntled mutter. Eskel chuckled, and then silently mourned the warm weight of Jaskier as he stood and rounded the table to sit in the chair opposite. “I’m sorry for assaulting you out of nowhere, and thank you for going along with it.”

“I figured if someone was desperate enough to climb into the lap of a stranger who looks like me, then the nice thing to do would be to just go with it,” Eskel shrugged. Jaskier frowned.

“Looks like you? You mean gorgeous and muscles for days? I would think that would be a draw, not a detractor,” he said. Eskel raised his eyebrows back at Jaskier, and gestured at the scars cutting down one side of his face. Jaskier’s head tilted in what seemed to be confusion, and his blue eyes traced Eskel’s face. There was no disgust there, no negative response whatsoever.

“The scars,” Eskel prompted.

“Scars aren’t a detractor. As I said, gorgeous,” Jaskier shrugged elegantly. He then offered Eskel a crooked little grin that went all the way to his beautiful eyes, making them light up from within, and Eskel’s brain went a little blank again. “So, if I hadn’t had Valdo heckling me I would’ve come over and flirted until you told me to back off. Is there any chance I can coax you into a real date with me?”

“I’d say a pretty high one, yeah,” Eskel agreed, booting his brain back into gear forcefully. He picked up his tea and took a sip, and then took in Jaskier over the rim of his mug, trailing his gaze from head to toe and then back up again. “I’m meeting with my brothers today, but how’s Friday?”

Jaskier beamed at him.

“Friday is _perfect.”_ Eskel took out his phone and they exchanged numbers, and then Jaskier looked at the time and sighed. “Unfortunately, I need to be heading back to the university. We’ve got a performance tonight and despite how good I look I do need to freshen up.” Eskel chuckled at the self-assured nature of Jaskier’s words, and then almost swallowed his tongue when Jaskier winked at him.

“Have fun,” he said, instead of giving in to the urge to offer to dirty him up first, and Jaskier smiled brightly at him.

“I will.” He stood and rounded the table once more, leaning down and kissing Eskel much like he had the first time. Eskel was slightly more prepared this time, though, and returned it gently. Jaskier hummed happily and pulled back, pink tongue flicking out over his bottom lip briefly. “I really do need to go. I’ll see you Friday,” he added, and then turned to leave.

Then he froze, and Eskel looked past him to see Geralt, Yennefer, Lambert, and Aiden standing there, varying levels of surprise visible in their faces and eyes.

“Jaskier,” Geralt growled. “Eskel.”

_Ah, shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may do a second chapter at some point - haven't decided yet. Also if a character was OOC I apologise, I've yet to read/watch/play the source material.
> 
> Edit: I am going to be doing a second chapter with the reactions of the others (and potentially a steamy scene between Jaskier and Eskel). I'm aiming to get it done by the end of July.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this has gained a chapter to the total count. This fic grew ideas and this is the result.  
> But here: have reactions!

Jaskier blinked a few times, surprised, but then recovered.

“Hi, Geralt! Yennefer, lovely to see you, as always,” he beamed, and was immensely pleased that Yennefer allowed him to kiss her cheek without shoving him away like she still did more than half the time despite them having become friends over the recent year.

“Jaskier,” Geralt growled again. “What the fuck.” Despite the inflection, it was a question, and one that Jaskier _really_ didn’t have time to answer. Nor did he really know how to, especially since he hadn’t told Geralt or Yen about the whole Valdo thing. They knew he hated the prick, but he’d not told them about the recent issues. “Why are you here with my brother?” Jaskier’s brain stuttered a bit – Eskel was Geralt’s brother? The one Geralt had been trying to set him up with?

“I didn’t know you knew Jaskier, Eskel,” Yennefer said to the man who’d been so gracious about playing along with Jaskier’s claim to Valdo. Eskel looked between Jaskier and Geralt, apparently unsure as to how to respond.

“It’s a fairly recent thing,” Jaskier hedged, and then glanced at the time. “As much as I would love to stay and chat, I do have to get back to the university and prepare for tonight’s performance—”

“Wait, Jaskier as in Geralt’s musician friend?” one of the two men that Jaskier had yet to be introduced to asked, eyeing Jaskier speculatively. “The one he describes as “annoying” more often than not?”

Jaskier spluttered, unable to form words through the sheer _outrage_ for a moment before he drew himself up and whirled on Geralt.

“One time! _One time_ I wake you while I’m composing—”

“More like ten,” Geralt muttered, but Jaskier pushed on as if he hadn’t spoken.

“—and you describe me as _annoying_ from thereon out?”

“I hadn’t slept in three days, Jaskier, and you woke me up with your fucking _caterwauling_ —”

“Excuse you?!”

“—less than an hour after I finally managed to fall asleep!”

Jaskier spluttered and then pointed a finger directly in Geralt’s face.

“ _You_ need a _nap_!”

“And I had just managed it before you woke me up,” Geralt snarked back.

“Shall we leave you two alone?” Yennefer asked dryly, and Jaskier valiantly restrained his response. “And wasn’t that at least ten years ago?” The two strangers laughed, and Jaskier huffed and rolled his eyes.

“As delightful as this conversation is, I really do need to go.”

“The Gala?” Yennefer spoke over Geralt before he could do more than open his mouth, and Jaskier beamed at her. He did so love that she no longer treated him like dirt on the bottom of her shoe.

It likely helped that he’d told her – while drunk, a few months ago – that he definitely had no designs on Geralt.

“Yes, and I fully intend to absolutely _destroy_ that pompous prick in front of the deans,” he replied with a smirk, voice dropping to a near growl, and Yennefer laughed delightedly as the two strangers exchanged glances and took a small step back.

“I look forward to seeing it. Go preen, little lark.” Jaskier chose to ignore the slight jab and slipped away before Geralt could speak again, tossing a wave over his shoulder.

He had to look good tonight – not that he didn’t always look good – and warm up for his—

Wait. Was Yennefer suggesting she was going to be at the gala?

Eskel was still attempting to process the exchange he’d just witnessed when Lambert sprawled into one of the seats beside him, legs stretching out and one arm draping across the back of the seat next to him as Aiden sank more gracefully into it.

“So that’s why you were in such a hurry to leave the house earlier,” Lambert said, teasing grin stretching across his face. Eskel rolled his eyes. “Y’know, if you didn’t want Grumpy to try setting you up with people, then you should’ve told him you were already dating his best friend.”

“I’m not. Wasn’t?” Eskel frowned to himself, not entirely sure which was correct. Geralt growled in the back of his throat, the sound only lasting a moment before Yen smacked his arm and then tugged him over to the other chairs. “We’ve got a date Friday, but today’s the first time I’ve met him.”

“What, seriously?” Lambert sounded surprised, and Geralt growled again. Yennefer looked thoughtful.

“I did see that rival of Jaskier’s leaving just before we arrived,” she said thoughtfully. She looked at Eskel, violet eyes intense, and he stiffened so as not to squirm beneath her piercing gaze. She hummed, and a mischievous, sly smile curled up her lips. “I can guess what happened.”

Eskel highly doubted that, and it must have shown on his face, for Yen’s smile became even more wicked. Belatedly, he recalled that she had a mind like a steel trap, and was so incredibly good at reading people that it was almost like she could read minds. He was fucked.

“Shall I frame events for the rest of our little group? You can, of course, tell me if I get something wrong,” Yennefer purred, and Eskel pulled a face. “I will take that as a yes.” She turned her gaze towards the others, drifting over Lambert and Aiden and Geralt before settling back on Eskel. Geralt, Eskel could see, still looked grumpy. “You were sitting at this table, minding your own business as you waited for us, and a certain someone sat himself in your lap, stole your tea, and kissed you. Am I correct so far?”

Eskel refused to respond, but he could feel the heat in his cheeks. Lambert was gaping at him in clear shock, whereas Aiden looked delighted and amused. Eskel heard rather than saw the palm Geralt put over his own face.

“Of course Jaskier did that to get away from Marx,” his white-haired brother grumbled. He dragged his hand down and stared at Eskel. “What else did he do? Or say?”

“You know, you don’t need to sound like it’s such a bad thing,” Aiden piped up, still grinning widely. “Considering Eskel was kissing him when we got here, I don’t think he minds.”

“I regret that you ever met Lambert,” Eskel told him, but Aiden’s smile didn’t waver in the slightest. He knew Eskel didn’t mean it.

“I thought you didn’t want to date,” Geralt said, drawing Eskel’s attention back to him. “You said so every time I tried to introduce you to—”

“Because I didn’t want to be set up with someone,” Eskel interrupted, keeping his voice calm and level. “And that was clearly what you were trying to do.” He smirked a little when Geralt grumbled incoherently, frowning. “You aren’t subtle, Geralt.”

“Very true,” Yennefer agreed breezily. “Now, I have Oxenfurt Charity Gala tickets, so why don’t we get a move on so I can make sure all of you are presentable enough to be seen with me? And that you’re dressed according to the theme.”

Eskel didn’t know what her game was this time, because she was clearly up to something, but he’d go along with it for now. He _did_ have Jaskier’s number, though, so perhaps he could exchange messages with the pretty blue-eyed man throughout the evening. It would certainly make it more bearable.

Jaskier was still grinning as he flounced into the green room. Valdo was already there, the bastard, having somehow regained his pomposity between _Merigold’s_ and the university, but he didn’t attempt to speak to Jaskier this time. Instead, he just scowled and turned back towards his preparations with a huff, which had Jaskier’s grin turning more than a little malicious.

“I know that look,” Essi said as he slid into his chair at the mirror beside hers. “What happened now?”

“That bastard invited himself along when I went to _Merigold’s_ earlier,” Jaskier told her, reaching for his primer. “He wasn’t all too pleased to meet my boyfriend.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Essi, and she raised one back. A smirk curled up the corner of her lips.

“And what’s this boyfriend’s name?” She was one of the few who knew he’d been lying to Valdo, but had never called him on it.

“Eskel,” Jaskier replied happily. “We have another date on Friday.” Essi’s other eyebrow joined the first, and her smirk softened into a smile. He smiled back, setting down the primer and picking up the foundation. “I really do like him a lot, Essi.”

“I’m glad,” she murmured. “Is he coming to the gala?”

“I don’t think so.” Jaskier kept his eyes on his mirror, assuring an even spread of his foundation. “Though I did bump into Yennefer and Geralt, and Yen said something that made me think she’s going to be there.”

“I thought she hated you?” Priscilla piped in from the other side of Jaskier, and he turned an offended look her way. “What? You’ve said as much at _least_ twenty times in the past year.”

“I,” Jaskier declared archly, “am a _delight_ , and Yennefer Vengerberg has enough taste to recognise that, thank you very much.” Essi and Priscilla both laughed, and Jaskier looked down his nose at them with a pointed sniff before returning to his makeup.

His phone buzzed with an incoming message, and he glanced down at the screen as he reached for his eyeliner.

_New Message From: Eskel <3_

He smiled, tapping on the message to open it.

**[6:10]  
** _Help me, please. Yennefer is dragging all of us to a charity event and insists on dressing us all up._

Jaskier’s eyebrows rose, and he tapped out a reply quickly.

**[6:11]  
** _This charity event wouldn’t happen to be Oxenfurt Charity Gala, perchance?_

He deftly applied his eyeliner while waiting for a response, hearing his phone buzz three times in quick succession.

**[6:13]  
** _It is.  
_ _How did you know?_

**[6:14]  
** _Wait, is that what you had to go get ready for?_

Jaskier’s smile felt permanent, and he ignored Priscilla and Essi’s gentle teasing as he replied again.

**[6:15]  
** _Clever man. Yes, I’m performing tonight. Most of the music faculty and some of our Honours and PhD students are entertainment tonight._

“Is that your _boyfriend_?” Valdo sneered, and Jaskier rolled his eyes.

“It is, not that it’s any of your business. Now get out of my mirror,” he added, waving the hand holding his blush brush to shoo the asshole away. “I’d rather not have to work around the cracks should you look at it too long.”

Priscilla laughed, bright but cruel, and Valdo huffed and stormed off, nose held high. Jaskier smirked to himself and continued to work on his makeup.

His phone buzzed again, and Jaskier resisted looking at the message until he was done, as he knew he would otherwise spiral into conversation with his new boyfriend and have to rush to finish his makeup before he had to get dressed. When he was done – the gold-lined silver he’d chosen making his blue eyes _pop_ , if he did say so himself – he dusted the setting powder over his face and then picked up his phone once more.

**[6:18]  
** _That will make it a much better night.  
_ _That valdo marx asshole is going to be there, right?_

**[6:19]  
** _Think he’d faint if I got my brothers and Aiden to glare at him with me?_

Jaskier laughed, imagining how pale Valdo would go at the sight of four big, scarred, muscular men glaring at him.

**[6:25]  
** _I would pay to see that. And if that doesn’t do it, Yennefer staring at him with her most superior expression would work. He’s terrified of her._

Eskel’s response came immediately.

**[6:25]  
** _Anyone with even a modicum of sense is scared of Yennefer Vengerberg._

**[6:26]  
** _Or they’re just as terrifying as she is._

Jaskier pondered that. Essi and Priscilla got on with Yen quite well, but Jaskier did consider them two of the four scariest women he knew. Yen was one, of course, and Shani was the fourth.

So yes, Eskel was right. Anyone with sense was scared of Yennefer.

Hm. Jaskier had never expected ‘sense’ would be one of Valdo’s attributes. He felt a little dirty even considering it.

**[6:27]  
** _You have a point there._

He paused, biting the inside of his lip, and then sent another text.

**[6:28]  
** _So Geralt is your brother? Did I hear that right earlier?_

**[6:28]  
** _Yes.  
_ _We’re twins.  
_ _Fraternal, obviously._

**[6:31]  
** _I assumed as much – has he really had white hair since he was a kid?_

**[6:32]  
** _Since we were in our teens. He went white over the course of a year when we were in high school. Never really found out why._

“Jaskier,” Essi interrupted, and he glanced up at her in surprise. “You should get dressed so we can warm up.” He looked at the time and blinked a few times in surprise. Was it really almost time?

He glanced at the timestamp of the last message and grimaced. Apparently so.

“Of course, Essi.” He typed out one last message before standing and heading for his costume bag. He had a gala to open, as much as he would love to continue talking with Eskel.

**[6:34]  
** _Huh. The more you know… I have to finish getting ready, sorry! See you soon?_

Eskel smiled a little at the message, ignoring Lambert’s mock gagging as he replied with an _‘of course, knock them dead’_ and tucked his phone into the pocket of the pants Yennefer had scared him into wearing. The theme was apparently “Europe, 1300s”, but thankfully Yennefer hadn’t tried to force any of them into the kinds of frippery Eskel had been dreading once he’d found out the theme. Instead, he and his brothers were dressed reasonably comfortably, and even had leather armour – which Eskel suspected was functional – to go with it. Yennefer, as always, looked absolutely resplendent, her black gown with lilac accents seeming just as natural as the sharp suits and tailored business dresses she tended to wear on a daily basis. Now they were just waiting on Geralt to come out so they could take a cab to the university.

“You sure you haven’t been dating him before today?” Lambert asked suspiciously, and Eskel rolled his eyes. Yennefer sighed, a great big heaving thing as if she thought she was dealing with idiots and had no patience left for any of them. “What? I’ve never seen him like this before,” Lambert complained, and Eskel rolled his eyes.

“Yes, today was the first time we met. And the rest is none of your business,” he added, levelling a glower at his younger brother. Lambert pulled a face at him, but when Aiden nudged him lightly, he refrained from answering – much to Eskel’s relief.

Geralt finally emerged, scowl like a thundercloud on his face as he tugged at the black-dyed leather that he’d been clothed in.

“Is all this really necessary?” he growled, and Yennefer rolled her eyes and adjusted one of his pauldrons a fraction.

“It’s a themed event, Geralt. And really, is this all that different from your usual clothing?” Considering Geralt tended to wear his motorcycle gear more often than not, Eskel thought that Yennefer had a point. He’d never say it, though – he preferred staying on Geralt’s good side, especially since Eskel had just agreed to a date with his best friend.

How that had come about, Eskel was still figuring out. He’d put off meeting the man for months, and then the two of them had managed to meet anyway. Small world.

“Cab’s here,” Aiden commented, and Eskel glanced past him to the window. Sure enough, a cab was idling at the curb.

“Good. Let’s get a move on, or we’ll be late,” Yennefer said briskly, and strode off towards the car. Like faithful puppies, the rest of them followed. It was a bad idea to openly oppose Yennefer Vengerberg.

Lute in hand, Jaskier adjusted his cap one more time before giving it up as a lost cause and shoving it behind his seat, ignoring the dirty look shot his way by the head of costume for tonight’s performance. It was bad enough he was in such a fitted doublet; he was not going to let the floppy, feathered cap get in his way. His performances were too lively for him to wear any kind of headwear, thank you very much.

Besides, the less his outfit resembled Valdo’s, the better. The bastard looked ridiculous in his gaudy purple and green, whereas Jaskier’s gold and silver was much more striking.

Good thing he and Essi were opening the gala, rather than Valdo Fucking Marx. The pair of them – Jaskier in gold and silver, Essi in vibrant blue and red with silver accents – made a much finer pair than Valdo with _anyone_ , and their music was much more engaging than Valdo’s pretentious ‘intellectually stimulating’ trash.

“Doors open in five! Jaskier and Essi, as soon as you start playing, that’ll be the cue for doors,” the event’s musical manager called, and Jaskier stood as Essi called back an affirmative. Jaskier slung his lute over his shoulder and offered an arm to his first musical partner for the night, who took it with a smile.

“Shall we, my dear Essi?” he asked gallantly, and Essi smiled brightly.

“We shall, dear Jaskier,” she replied in a similar tone, and blew a kiss at Priscilla before the two of them strolled off towards their starting positions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again a note: I am writing with only fanfic and tumblr as my guide, so please excuse any OOC-ness that can't be explained by the AU setting.
> 
> (Admittedly, I'm not entirely happy with how the reactions ended up... happy to hear any feedback anyone might have on it!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of Eskel and Jaskier being Soft for each other, and more dragging Valdo Marx.

By the time he and Essi had finished their welcoming set, Jaskier was flushed with the high of performing to such an appreciative audience. Essi was almost as giddy, and the two of them retreated to Priscilla, both grinning ear to ear. Jaskier was manfully restraining giggles, especially when he saw how sour Valdo looked.

Served the asshole right – he wouldn’t know _good_ music if it slapped him across the face, and Jaskier had been dealing with his complaints about Jaskier’s compositions for _years_. Add on to that the fact that Valdo couldn’t master the lute (whereas Jaskier, Essi, and Priscilla had all managed it rather quickly), and Jaskier was feeling rather superior.

“I saw Yennefer and Geralt while you were playing,” Priscilla told Jaskier as Essi perched on her knee and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Her arm went around Essi’s hips with easy familiarity, and Jaskier’s smile softened slightly. He did adore the two of them, and they were lovely together. “They had three large, handsome men with them. One looked absolutely enthralled by you, dear Jaskier,” she added, smirking, and Jaskier waggled a finger at her chidingly before he looked around, hoping to spy Eskel.

He saw Geralt first – it was hard to miss that silver-white hair, especially at his height – and then the three other men beside him. Yennefer was there too, and the only one looking in Jaskier’s direction at that moment. She smirked and wiggled her fingers at him in a wave, and Jaskier smiled wider when all the others looked his way. The happiness on Eskel’s face when their eyes met had his cheeks flushing a little more, and Jaskier gave a little wave.

“Oh, he really is _exactly_ your type, isn’t he?” Essi asked, jabbing Jaskier in the ribs, and he jolted and turned to frown at her.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” He pouted a little at her, and she and Priscilla sent back matching grins.

“You have a _type_ , dear Jaskier, and that man is ticking every box,” Priscilla informed him. Jaskier huffed and rolled his eyes, and then looked back towards Eskel – who now was scowling at the two men Jaskier hadn’t managed to be introduced to earlier. Lambert and Aiden, he recalled their names were, though he couldn’t be sure which was which. One was physically jabbing him, though, which made Jaskier think that he was the third brother, Lambert. Unless Aiden was the type to jab his in-laws in the ribs... he’d have to find out for sure before he made an error.

“Priscilla, Essi, Jaskier, you’re up,” the music director said, and the three of them sighed almost in unison and stood.

“We’ll continue this later,” Priscilla told Jaskier, and strolled off to her starting point, her bright blue and red with accents of gold making her easy to track through the crowd. Essi grinned wickedly and dashed off towards her own starting position in a swirl of red-and-silver-accented blue skirts. Jaskier shook his head with a smile, loosened the laces of his silver and gold doublet up near his throat, and moved the short distance necessary to reach his position. He strummed a chord, Priscilla’s echoing back a moment later and then a higher one coming from Essi, and then they began to play.

Eskel could barely take his eyes off Jaskier as the musician – looking otherworldly in silver and gold – strolled in a very deliberate path through the crowd, his lute and two others forming an intricate melody. They, all three of them, were very talented.

And then they started to _sing_.

Eskel was entranced.

“Well, we’ve lost him,” Lambert said, and Eskel shoved him absently, eyes still fixed on Jaskier as the man sang and strummed and strolled through the crowd, occasionally meeting with one of the other lute-players and playing off each other – as the two women did whenever they met, Eskel noticed – before they each went their own way again.

Jaskier came close, still singing, his voice rich and low and sonorous in a way Eskel wouldn’t have expected of him (though he couldn’t place why), and winked at Eskel. He then crooned a line at Yennefer, who rolled her eyes but was smiling a little, and bounded off towards where his two fellow musicians were already standing, voices raised in a powerful harmony that resonated throughout the hall.

The song ended with a soaring high note from the woman in blue, powerful harmonies supporting her from both Jaskier and the other woman, and then as silence fell upon the hall once more, the three of them executed a ridiculous, flourishing, courtly bow.

The applause was deafening.

The night passed remarkably quickly, and by the end of it Jaskier was buzzing with the infectious energy of the night. Valdo had performed one of his usual pompous pieces of trash, to mediocre applause and a sigh of disappointment from the dean of classical poetry, which Jaskier had been delighted to notice.

Then there was one of the main events of the night – what had been dubbed the Oxenfurt Bardic Competition. It was an annual event, but due to the theme of tonight’s event they’d pushed the date back and combined it with the charity gala. Jaskier had won for the past two years, and he was determined to at least beat Valdo – which wasn’t all that hard – even if he ended up losing to Essi or Priscilla.

And he had. Oh, how he’d beaten Valdo. One of the categories was similar to the concept of a rap battle, but they had to pick up a theme from a short phrase played by one of the judges, and then improvise. And Valdo had been unlucky enough to be paired with Jaskier for that particular event.

Valdo had lost spectacularly to Jaskier, and Jaskier was going to be smug about it for _years._

(He might still be a little bitter about Valdo stealing one of his early songs, but that was neither here nor there.)

The final category had been a play-off with all winners of previous categories, and it had come down to Priscilla, Essi, and Jaskier – just as he’d expected it to.

And Priscilla had won, by a single vote. She’d laughed as she bowed and accepted the award, and had then swept Essi into a dip and kiss, to the delight and cheers of the crowd which had been getting tipsier and rowdier over the course of the night. Jaskier had just laughed and accepted his defeat with good grace, immensely proud of his friend for her improvements over the years.

“Jaskier,” a warm, low voice said from behind, and Jaskier whirled to face the source, still all but vibrating in glee and feeling almost drunk himself from the atmosphere.

“Eskel!” he greeted happily, and bounded forward to embrace the man. Eskel chuckled and wrapped his arms around him in return, and Jaskier smiled as he leaned into the embrace. “I don’t know if I said it earlier, but I’m so glad you came.”

“You did say something to that effect, but I’m happy to hear it all the same,” Eskel murmured. Jaskier reluctantly drew back, looking up the slight difference in height between them to look at Eskel’s face. There was a small smile curling his lips, and Jaskier just wanted to kiss him.

So he did. His impulse control was questionable on a good day, let alone when he was this buzzed from a good performance, so he currently had very little in the way of restraint.

Eskel kissed him back almost immediately, though, and Jaskier hummed happily as their mouths moved together slowly, softly. It was almost chaste, if not for the way Jaskier teasingly traced his tongue over Eskel’s bottom lip.

They were interrupted before it could truly move out of ‘chaste’ territory, though, by a pointed clearing of a throat. Jaskier grumbled wordless protest as he drew back, turning towards the interruption. Yennefer looked back at him calmly, a smirk curling her lips and one eyebrow raised.

“As amusing as it is to watch Geralt’s reaction to coming across the two of you like this, I would prefer if he _wasn’t_ broken tonight,” she said calmly, and Jaskier poked his tongue out at her briefly before looking to Geralt. His best friend looked pained and disturbed, and Jaskier snickered.

“Only because you asked so nicely, Yen,” he declared, making no attempt to move away from Eskel. He quite liked having those strong arms around him, thank you very much. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen Essi and Priscilla?”

“We’re right here, Jas,” Priscilla said, and Jaskier jerked and then whipped his head about to look at the pair of blondes. They were hand-in-hand, and Essi was smirking. “Valdo was kicking up a fuss about you buying off the judges but one of the organisers heard him and started ripping him a new one.”

“I’m almost disappointed to miss that,” Jaskier admitted, and then leaned into Eskel a little firmer when he shifted as if to release him. “Eskel, these two lovely and talented songstresses are Essi and Priscilla Daven. Ladies, this is Eskel. You already know Yennefer and Geralt, of course.”

“Of course,” the two chorused, and Jaskier pulled a face at them. Priscilla grinned unrepentantly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet the man who’s had Jaskier all aflutter,” she added, and Jaskier squawked and flailed his hands at her as his cheeks went red.

“Priscilla!”

“Don’t worry, Jas, it’s cute,” Essi put in, a cheeky little smile of her own on her face. Jaskier spluttered, but quietened when Eskel just chuckled again.

“Oh, no, there’s two of them,” the rude man from earlier – who Jaskier thought was Lambert – groaned, leaning on the other as yet unintroduced man, who really looked nothing like Geralt or Eskel and was apparently endlessly amused by the entire situation.

“Do I need to remind you how you were when you started dating Aiden?” Eskel growled towards the now-identified Lambert. Now-confirmed-to-be-Aiden looked even more delighted at that.

“I sense a _story_ here,” Jaskier declared, and then made a moue of disappointment when the event director appeared. “But unfortunately, I have one more task for the evening before I am a free man again.” He reluctantly extracted himself from Eskel’s arms and pressed one more kiss to his mouth, keeping it short and quick. He then grabbed Priscilla and twirled her under one arm, drawing a laugh from her, before he did the same to Essi and then draped an arm over each woman’s shoulders.

The three of them bowed to the amused-looking quintet, and then separated to grab their lutes once more.

“I’ll come find you after!” he called back, and then the trio launched into the rollicking jig that they were to perform as their closing act.

***

Jaskier had never before changed back to street clothes so quickly after a performance. He only did a cursory wipe of makeup remover – just enough to get rid of the blush, contour, and foundation – before shoving his feet into his boots and scooping up his bag.

“Why the rush?” one of the other professors called, but he just waved them off and darted out the door, hearing Essi and Priscilla laugh as he did so.

He almost crashed straight into Eskel, stumbling to a stop just before they would have collided and staring up at the handsome man he’d somehow managed to fall into a relationship with – if it could be considered as such, so soon.

“Hi,” he breathed out, and Eskel smiled at him. A large, callused hand touched his cheek, and he leaned into it with a happy sigh.

“Hello to you, too,” Eskel murmured, and leaned in to initiate a kiss for the first time. Jaskier returned it greedily, perfectly happy to stand there in the cool night air and kiss his new boyfriend deep and slow. “I know this is really fast, but do you want to come back to mine?”

Jaskier beamed.

“I’d love that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _this thing is still gaining chapters_


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eskel and Jaskier's relationship continues to grow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where this fic earns the "Explicit" rating

They didn’t sleep together that night, not in any way other than the literal sense. They just curled up together and talked for hours, getting to know each other and occasionally exchanging soft kisses, and then fell asleep on Eskel’s comfortable couch when they were too tired to continue talking. It was the best sleep Jaskier had had in ages, and he was definitely looking forward to more nights like that with his new boyfriend.

They’d messaged through a lot of Thursday, and then Friday evening Jaskier had been thrilled to take Eskel to one of his favourite places – a small, bustling bistro owned by a friend of his, the _Rosemary & Thyme_. Eskel had been a little hesitant at first, but he’d followed Jaskier inside willingly enough and had relaxed when they ended up in a little corner booth. The setup of the bistro meant they could see the entire place from their corner, but the décor meant they were harder to spot in return. Jaskier had thought he would like that part, considering what he’d said about his scars when they’d first met, and so he was pleased to discover he was right.

So their first date had gone well. They’d gone back to Jaskier’s apartment afterwards, and had spent it much like they had the night after the gala. A second, and third, and fourth, and fifth date followed, and before Jaskier knew it, a month had passed since he’d spied Eskel in the back of a coffeeshop and sat himself in his lap.

He was deliriously happy. Eskel was everything Jaskier had ever dreamed of and more; he couldn’t see ever _not_ having Eskel in his life now that they were together. Essi and Priscilla (and Yennefer, when he saw her) took great delight in teasing him about his lovey-dovey state, but Jaskier couldn’t find it in himself to be irritated at them for it.

They hadn’t slept together in a figurative sense, yet, but for the first time in his romantic life, Jaskier didn’t feel like he _had_ to in order to keep his partner’s affections. Eskel just… seemed to be content to spend time with him, and even though their kisses occasionally got quite heated, there was never any urgency to any of their interactions.

Jaskier wasn’t entirely sure what to do with that, honestly, and if not for the heat he could see and sense from his boyfriend when they were making out – often with Jaskier straddling Eskel’s lap, his hands in that lovely dark hair – then he might be wondering if Eskel was even interested in him that way.

Not that he’d be upset if he wasn’t! Jaskier had hands and toys, after all – if his boyfriend wasn’t interested in sex, then so be it. He appreciated Eskel’s form, yes, but he’d fallen in love with his kind nature and quiet mischievousness.

And hadn’t that been a surprise when he realised? He was a romantic, yes, who could love at the drop of a hat, but he’d never felt this deeply for someone before. He truly hoped Eskel felt the same way, because Jaskier wasn’t sure he could recover from _this_ broken heart.

“You’ve been quiet,” Eskel murmured, head tilting back to look at him, and Jaskier smiled as he kissed his boyfriend’s forehead and tightened his arms around him briefly. He rarely got the chance to be the big spoon with the kinds of men he preferred, so the fact Eskel was more than happy to be held was just another thing Jaskier loved about him.

“Just thinking,” he assured him.

“Heavy thoughts?” Eskel asked, and Jaskier laughed and nuzzled against his temple.

“Not at all,” he disagreed. No, loving Eskel was the _lightest_ of thoughts Jaskier had had in years. He kissed Eskel’s temple, letting his lips linger. “I love you,” he confessed softly, lips brushing against Eskel’s skin with every syllable, and Eskel made a soft, almost broken sound. He turned in Jaskier’s arms, and Jaskier melted into the fierce kiss Eskel pressed to his mouth.

They shifted on the couch, Jaskier sliding down beneath Eskel to feel the weight of the man settle onto him as he was kissed breathless. Eskel’s tongue pushed past his lips and into his mouth, and Jaskier met him with equal fervour. He hooked a leg high around Eskel’s side and dragged a hand through dark hair, moaning unashamedly into the kiss as the warm weight of his boyfriend settling onto him made his cock twitch and start to harden. An answering hardness was pressing against him through Eskel’s sleep pants, and Jaskier wrapped his other leg around Eskel as their tongues tangled and stroked and moved from Jaskier’s mouth to Eskel’s and then back again, neither of them taking from the other but simply sharing between them.

Eskel broke away, panting, staring down at Jaskier as if he’d just given him the sky. His eyes were shiny, like he was seconds away from tears, and Jaskier made a broken noise of his own and dragged him back down to kiss him again. It was shorter this time, but no less heated, and when it ended Eskel leaned his forehead against Jaskier’s.

“I love you too,” he whispered, voice hoarse, and Jaskier’s heart fluttered. His breath caught when Eskel smiled. “I’m glad you came over to me that day.”

Jaskier laughed – giggled, really – and kissed his lover again through their smiles. He was glad he’d done that, too. He likely wouldn’t have this lovely, wonderful man in his life if he hadn’t.

They didn’t sleep together that night, but Eskel relished the emotional closeness more than the physical. He had never dated someone so open and honestly affectionate with him, who didn’t flinch away from his scars at their first meeting – or at all. He’d never dated someone who appreciated all of him, who hadn’t either ignored the scars or had some weird kink for them. Jaskier didn’t do either of those things, and that was what had endeared the musician to him in the first place. That, and his snark during that first meeting. The few times they’d run into Valdo since, Eskel had had the pleasure of seeing Jaskier completely demolish the man verbally, and each time he found himself more and more attracted to his boyfriend.

He wanted to take things further between them.

So, their next date night, he broached the topic. It was nerve-wracking, doing that out of the blue, but he was determined. When Jaskier climbed into his lap and dragged him into a deep, loving kiss, he reciprocated eagerly, hands holding Jaskier close as the musician kissed him with increasing heat and need. When they would normally ease back from their kisses and return to cuddling, Eskel voiced the question that had been lingering in his mind since he’d made his decision that morning.

“Come to bed with me?” he asked softly, hesitantly, voice just that slightest bit tentative. His worries seemed to be for naught, though, as Jaskier almost _glowed_ at the question.

“I thought you’d never ask,” he replied, and kissed Eskel again, quick and fierce. “Yes, Eskel. Take me to bed.” Eskel had no intention of denying him anything, especially not when he wanted it too.

He stood, Jaskier still held firmly in his arms, and Jaskier laughed and wrapped arms and legs around him as he moved towards his bedroom.

As the last of their clothing dropped to the floor, Jaskier took a moment to look his fill of his lover, eyes tracing appreciatively over strong shoulders, thick thighs, and large biceps. He wasn’t built like a bodybuilder or gym junkie, but like someone who actually used their muscles, and Jaskier liked that. He liked it a _lot_.

Eskel reached for him, and Jaskier went into his arms easily, pressing their mouths together in a kiss that started chaste but quickly grew more intense. The sensation of Eskel pressing against him combined with the way their tongues were twining and how Eskel gripped him tight, like he didn’t want to let him go, were all enough to have Jaskier’s arousal climbing. He held tight to Eskel’s shoulders and slowly pushed him backwards, not letting their mouths part, until Eskel bumped into the bed and sat almost automatically. The sudden movement had their lips parting, and Eskel – lips damp and face flushed – stared up at Jaskier with such desire that the musician couldn’t have resisted crawling into his lap even if he’d wanted to. And he didn’t want to, so there was no delay in him climbing astride Eskel and settling their hips together as he wound his arms around the bigger man’s neck and sealed their lips together once more.

Eskel’s hands were warm on his hips, gripping him tight yet still somehow giving off the impression he’d let go in an instant if Jaskier tried to move away. The further proof of how considerate his dear Eskel was had Jaskier feeling like his heart was overflowing with how much he loved him. He wound his fingers through his hair and held him close, like he could keep the world at bay just with his touch.

Eskel’s lips parted beneath his, a sigh shuddering out of him as Jaskier caught his lower lip between his teeth briefly and then released it to instead slip his tongue over the area he’d just bitten lightly. His tongue delved into Eskel’s mouth once more, stroking along his tongue and coiling them together before he – reluctantly – drew back, easing off to soft, chaste presses of closed mouths.

“I want you to finger me open,” he breathed out against Eskel’s lips, and his lover groaned like the sound had been ripped out of him. “And then I’m going to ride your cock until we both come.”

“Please, Jaskier,” Eskel whispered back, voice trembling. Jaskier kissed him again, keeping it brief, and then released Eskel so they could move away from the edge of the bed. Eskel shuffled back, moving up the bed until he was leaning against the headboard, his cock hard and flushed and already starting to leak precum from the tip. Jaskier was just as hard, and he couldn’t _wait_ to get Eskel inside him.

Eskel leaned over to the bedside table to pull a bottle of lube from one of the drawers before Jaskier could ask, and he climbed back into Eskel’s lap to kiss him soft and slow.

“So good, Eskel,” he murmured, winding his fingers into Eskel’s thick locks once more. His lover tilted into the touch, one arm around him as he kissed him again and again. Each kiss lasted just a little longer, slowly growing in intensity as Jaskier rolled his hips achingly slowly against Eskel’s.

“Jas,” Eskel whined softly against his mouth, and Jaskier kissed him one more time before drawing back enough to press their foreheads together.

“Go on, dear heart,” he murmured, and then kissed his lover again – just a peck this time. “Just like this.” Eskel groaned, so soft it almost sounded like a sob, and Jaskier stroked his hair as he fumbled with the lubricant.

Then there was a slick finger – just a little cold, but nothing shocking – dipping between his cheeks to press against his rim. Jaskier relaxed, tilting his hips back encouragingly, and gave a pleased hum as Eskel slowly – oh so slowly, like he was scared of hurting him – eased the digit inside him.

Eskel’s hands were bigger than his, fingers thicker, but Jaskier knew his body and what it was capable of, and so he eased back, taking probably more than what Eskel intended. Eskel froze, and Jaskier kissed him softly in reassurance before dropping his head to his boyfriend’s broad, scarred shoulder. He kissed the pulse throbbing in Eskel’s neck as well.

“I can handle it, my love.” He squeezed and then relaxed around Eskel’s finger deliberately. “Keep going.”

And Eskel – darling, sweet Eskel – obeyed.

He was so hard it hurt, and the way Jaskier was panting against his neck – shuddering and moaning with three fingers inside him, pressing against his prostate and stretching his hole in preparation for Eskel’s cock – wasn’t doing anything to ease that. Jaskier was moving a bit, too, just small flexes of his hips that had him moving on Eskel’s hand much like he’d imagine the musician would move on his cock.

Jaskier rose up and kissed him, and Eskel returned it eagerly, welcoming Jaskier’s tongue into his mouth with just a short groan as their cocks rubbed together and Jaskier’s muscles briefly clenched around his fingers.

“Want you in me, Eskel,” Jaskier whispered against his mouth, and he groaned. “Going to ride your gorgeous cock until you come inside me.”

“Fuck, Jas,” Eskel gasped, and Jaskier chuckled. The sound was breathier than usual, slightly strained – the only sign of how he, too, was affected. “Please—” Jaskier kissed him again, harder this time, cutting off his words and making Eskel moan into it. He managed to maintain enough clarity of mind to curl his fingers in Jaskier and rub over his prostate, and the deep groan that resonated from the musician was gratifying.

“Now, Eskel,” Jaskier demanded, and Eskel hurried to obey. He eased his fingers out of his lover and hastily slicked his cock, hissing a little at the cool lubricant on his heated skin, and then Jaskier was grasping his cock and shifting his own hips until Eskel’s cock head was pressed right up against that warm, lube-slick hole that Eskel had just spend who knew how long preparing. “Hands on me,” Jaskier ordered, and Eskel gripped his hips tight. Had he not been so focused on the tight heat his cock was slowly being taken into, he’d be worried about leaving bruises from how hard he was holding Jaskier.

All he could see was Jaskier’s blue, blue eyes and all he could feel was Jaskier’s hands on his shoulders and Jaskier’s hips beneath his hands and the impossible heat of Jaskier’s body slowly sinking onto his cock.

Eskel was so _gorgeous_ like this, wide-eyed and panting and so, so obedient as Jaskier sank steadily onto his thick, hot, hard cock. His hands were clamped on his hips, and he was staring up at Jaskier with something like adoration as Jaskier settled into his lap. He groaned as he finally seated himself fully, a slight burn still present despite how thoroughly Eskel had prepared him, and leaned forward to kiss his lover hard and messy as he adjusted to being so full. It’d been a while since he’d had anything but a toy, and even his larger dildo didn’t compare to how utterly _filled_ he felt with Eskel buried inside him.

He flexed his thighs, rising slightly, and then relaxed and sank back down, the drag of Eskel’s cock against sensitive nerve endings making him shudder and moan.

He did it again.

And again.

Rising over Eskel, the delicious friction making his legs tremble, and then sinking back down into the cradle of his lover’s hips, full once more. Eskel’s hands remained on his hips, supporting him and guiding him but never doing anything more. Jaskier braced his hands on Eskel’s shoulders as he rose again, sinking back down at just the right angle to stimulate his prostate, grinding and trying to somehow take _more_ each time Eskel’s hips met his cheeks.

Eskel was still looking at him like he’d summoned the gods and the stars, like Jaskier was everything he’d ever wanted and was all he’d ever need. Jaskier couldn’t do anything less than kiss him, open-mouthed and panting as he fucked himself on his lover’s cock. He could feel the tension in him drawing up tighter, and as Eskel’s hips started to jerk up to meet his downwards thrusts, he could feel himself getting closer and closer to his peak.

Jaskier’s legs burned as he sped up, thrusts growing erratic now as he chased his climax, mouth slipping to Eskel’s shoulder as he lost the ability to multitask. He panted heavily into the skin at the junction of Eskel’s neck and shoulder, jumbled whispers of praise and love falling from his lips with little coherence.

“Jas,” Eskel whined, head falling back and throat being bared to Jaskier with the movement. He pressed his open mouth to the skin there, an attempt at a kiss, and Eskel’s hips bucked up against Jaskier as his hands clenched tighter on his hips. “Can I – want to – inside – please!”

“Yes, love, yes,” Jaskier groaned in return. Eskel bucked again, driving deep into Jaskier just as he was slamming back down, and Jaskier cried out and rode Eskel back down to the bed as his lover’s cock seemed to throb inside him.

It could’ve been his imagination, but as Jaskier chased his own orgasm, the sound of Eskel inside him became messier, slicker.

“So close,” he gasped out, and groaned when one of Eskel’s hands slid from his hip to instead grasp his cock, tugging a few times before a callused thumb brushed over his tip.

That was enough to do it, and Jaskier cried out as he collapsed into Eskel’s lap. His hips jerked and his body clenched around Eskel’s still-firm cock inside him as he finally came.

Eskel buried his face in Jaskier’s neck, arms wrapping tightly around him and holding him as close as possible while the aftermath of their orgasms rocked through them. Jaskier was still and silent bar his harsh panting, and Eskel’s breathing wasn’t that much better.

After what felt like hours and yet no time at all, Jaskier shifted in his lap and pressed a kiss to his neck, his jaw, his cheek, his mouth. Eskel kissed him back, soft and slow once more, still trembling a little.

“Shower and then sleep?” Jaskier suggested, and Eskel muffled his laughter against his lover’s neck. Jaskier just hummed and stroked his hair, seeming in no rush to move just yet.

“I love you,” Eskel whispered, and Jaskier kissed his shoulder.

“And I love you, dear heart, darling Eskel,” he whispered back.

They didn’t move for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! It's done!  
> Who can spot the TAD lyric references in this chapter? The first was unintentional but the second was definitely on purpose.
> 
> (I _might_ add a bonus chapter with Aiden & Lambert, specifically what Eskel hinted at in the previous chapter, but there are no guarantees)


	5. Epilogue: Five Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue! With the story hinted at in chapter 3 about what happened when Lambert and Aiden first started dating.

His hands rose to tug at his collar, wanting nothing more than to take off his tie and undo at least the top button of his silky dress shirt, but Jaskier slapped his hands away before he could do so, neatening the tie and fiddling with his collar.

“Don’t play with it, I just got it sitting right,” the musician scolded. Lambert would protest, but whatever Jaskier had done had loosened the feeling of constriction around his throat and so he didn’t disobey.

“Bossy,” he said instead, and Jaskier just rolled his eyes, hands brushing over Lambert’s shoulders briefly before he took a step back. His eyes travelled over Lambert from head to toe, brisk and impersonal, and it took all his self-control not to fidget. “So do I pass muster?”

“Aiden won’t be able to take his eyes off you,” Jaskier assured him, grinning brightly. “Not that he ever does when you’re in the same room.”

Heat prickled Lambert’s cheeks, and he turned away to instead look at his reflection in the large mirror that graced the room.

Huh.

He didn’t look half-bad in a suit.

“My work here is done,” Jaskier declared. He was still _grinning_ , the bastard. Lambert couldn’t really bring himself to care, though. Not today. “I have to go get ready. Eskel, dear heart, be a darling and make sure he doesn’t ruin my hard work.”

Lambert pulled a face at them – not that either of the lovey-dovey couple saw it – as Jaskier kissed Eskel. Geralt did see it, though, and just rolled his eyes in return. Lambert’s reaction was more habit than anything else by this point; Jaskier and Eskel were just as sappy five years together than they’d been when they first met.

His gaze drifted back to the mirror, and he examined his reflection critically. Jaskier _had_ done some good work, even he could admit that. Though he did think it a bigger achievement that he’d managed to get Geralt into something similar. Geralt didn’t _do_ formal, so getting him into a full three-piece suit was a hell of an achievement.

“Not too late to bail,” Geralt murmured, and Lambert scoffed.

“I’m not a fuckin’ idiot,” he retorted, not looking at either of his brothers directly but instead just watching them through the mirror as they came to stand at each of his shoulders. “I’m not going to risk Jaskier or Yennefer ripping me a new one.” Eskel smirked.

“Always thought you were smarter than you let on, little brother,” he said, and Lambert scowled at him. He had to forcibly restrain the urge to elbow his asshole older brother in the gut for the comment. “Not worried about Aiden getting cold feet, then?”

“Are you shitting me?” Lambert scoffed. “He was the one who proposed, even if he was all for eloping once Yen and Jas got involved.”

“Pretty sure it’d be the old man you’d have to look out for if you did that,” Geralt replied, voice dry in the way that Lambert knew meant he was suppressing his amusement. “He’s still not forgiven Eskel for that.”

“It was spur of the moment!” Eskel protested, as he always did. “We were in _Vegas_ and _drunk_ , what did you expect?”

“At least inviting the old man along instead of sneaking off and getting married by a balding Julius Caesar in a Roman bathhouse themed chapel with only Essi and Priscilla as your witnesses,” Lambert retorted.

There was a moment’s pause.

“Point,” Eskel conceded finally.

Someone knocked at the door, and a moment later it opened to admit Vesemir. The old man pulled off a suit well for his age, and Lambert wondered how often he got to wear them, because he looked more comfortable than Lambert felt.

“Lookin’ sharp, boys,” he said gruffly, looking them over, and Lambert frowned suspiciously as he looked at Vesemir’s eyes.

“Are you _crying_ on us, old man?” he demanded. Vesemir’s glare wasn’t as effective as it had been when Lambert was a bratty teenager, but it was still a pretty damn good one.

“Not a chance, pup,” he retorted, and Lambert made a noise of deep scepticism. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Lambert admitted, and took a deep breath. His heart was beating faster than normal, the anticipation and – though he’d never admit it to anyone – nerves making his pulse race. “Time to go?” Vesemir nodded.

“Let’s go see you married, pup.”

Lambert and Aiden’s wedding went off without a hitch, and was probably one of the best ceremonies Jaskier had ever attended. A lot of the others he’d been present at were full of pomp and circumstance, but neither Aiden nor Lambert were the kind to have a lot of fuss, even if Aiden could match Jaskier for dramatics (albeit in different ways) on some days.

The ceremony was fairly short, simple and tasteful, and when Aiden dipped Lambert during their first kiss as a wedded pair, no one was surprised. Instead there was just laughter, which only increased when Lambert retaliated by hauling Aiden over his shoulder while they were supposed to be walking down the aisle to sign the marriage certificates.

His darling Eskel was grinning, but his eyes were suspiciously shiny and Jaskier caught him wiping his eyes discreetly while everyone else left the room to head to the reception.

“Happy tears?” he asked softly, slipping a hand into his husband’s, and Eskel chuckled. It was a tiny bit wet, but Jaskier didn’t call him on it. Instead he just leant against him a little firmer, grounding him, and waited patiently.

“Happy tears,” Eskel admitted finally, voice just as soft, and then lifted the hand holding Jaskier’s to press a kiss to his knuckles. Jaskier’s wedding ring caught the light, and he had a moment of doubt.

“Do you regret not having a proper ceremony?” he blurted, and Eskel laughed. It wasn’t as wet as his previous attempt, and his eyes were shining with good humour.

“Not at all,” he assured him, and Jaskier tugged him down into a firm kiss. “Come on,” Eskel said when it ended, “we need to get to the reception.”

Eskel didn’t need the paper he’d written out his best man speech on, but he had it tucked into his inner jacket pocket just in case he stumbled. The only reason he was best man instead of Geralt was because he was more willing to actually speak, and Lambert had apparently forgotten the implied threat Eskel had made when he tried teasing Eskel about falling for Jaskier so quickly.

Eskel hadn’t forgotten. And what kind of big brother would he be if he didn’t embarrass his younger siblings?

When Coën, Aiden’s best man, was done with his speech and toast, it was finally Eskel’s turn, and he stood and took the microphone Coën offered him with a faint smirk. He pulled the sheet of paper that held his speech from his pocket, but didn’t bother unfolding it yet.

“Most of you know me, and know I’m Lambert’s eldest brother.”

“By five minutes!” Geralt – already tipsy, the utter lightweight – called. Eskel flipped him off, causing a ripple of laughter to go through the small crowd.

“Fuck off, Geralt,” he replied, causing another laugh, and then continued as planned. “As one of his older brothers, I’ve seen him grow up from a scrawny, bratty runt to the not-so-scrawny asshole we all know and love.” More laughter. Lambert’s shout of ‘oh, fuck you!’ was mostly lost to the laughs, and Eskel grinned. “I’ve known Aiden since both of them were twelve years old, and I got to witness all the pining before they got together up close and personal.”

“Oi!” Lambert started to stand as he called out his protest, but Aiden dragged him back down and clamped a hand over his mouth. Eskel continued as if there hadn’t been any interruption.

“I watched my little brother fall head-over-heels for his best friend over the course of three years, and I was probably even happier than Lambert was when Aiden finally sat on him and told him in blunt terms that he wanted to date.”

“I remember that,” he heard Coën say, though it was lost to almost everyone else among the laughter. Eskel gave the other man a nod.

“I’ve always wanted my brothers to be happy, and there is no denying that Aiden makes Lambert exactly that.” He smirked, turning just enough to meet Lambert’s eyes. Horrified realisation was forming in his little brother’s eyes, and Eskel’s smirk broadened. “In the first week they were dating, I saw Lambert walk into three doors, a lamppost, and five different walls because he was on cloud nine. His phone never left his hand and every time it beeped at him his attention would immediately zoom in on it. That was the cause for the fall down the stairs that ended with him laid up in a hospital bed refusing to tell Aiden what had put him there.”

Laughter erupted, and Eskel turned his eyes to his new brother-in-law.

“Now you know, Aiden! I’ve been sitting on that one for years.” Aiden was laughing too, and he lifted his glass to Eskel in a toast. “But regardless of the physical mishaps and the _many_ misunderstandings that came about because my little brother couldn’t figure out how to use his words, I’ve rarely seen any couple as devoted and in love as those two. They’ve been together and happy for fifteen years, and have _finally_ tied the knot like we expected them to do as soon as they were legal.” He raised his glass. “Welcome to the family officially, Aiden, and I wish you luck in continuing to handle Lambert.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve got the hang of it by now,” Aiden called back, and Eskel laughed along with the rest of the crowd.

“That you do. Lambert, despite the teasing, you’re my little brother and I’ve only ever wished you happiness and good fortune. Even if you are a little shit sometimes. I’d say I love you, but you might just try to hit me for being so sentimental.” Lambert flipped him off, but Eskel could see that his eyes were slightly damp. The little asshole had a soft heart beneath his bluster, and Eskel was one of the few who knew it. “A toast to the happy couple! May the rest of your lives be just as happy as these past fifteen years.”

The wedding crowd cheered and toasted, and Eskel returned to his seat beside Lambert.

“You’re an asshole,” his little brother accused, punching him in the arm – much lighter than he could have done. Eskel dragged him into a rough sideways hug, and Lambert rubbed his face against Eskel’s shoulder briefly. “Thanks, Esk.”

“Anytime,” Eskel murmured, and then let Lambert go when he shoved at his side.

Jaskier came over once the newlyweds were called out to have their first dance, and slipped into Eskel’s lap as he immediately dropped into a good-natured argument with Geralt. Eskel smiled and brushed a kiss to the nape of his husband’s neck as the reception continued.

Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is definitely no more for this fic, now that I've written this chapter! Thank you to everyone who kudos'd, bookmarked, commented, or subscribed - I appreciate it! Much love to all of you ^_^


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